Major opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress, New Nigeria Peoples Party and Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday boycotted by-elections in Ungogo and Kano Municipal constituencies in Kano State, citing alleged irregularities and security concerns.
The parties said fears of violence and what they described as a process skewed in favor of the ruling All Progressives Congress forced them to withdraw from the polls.
The elections were held to fill vacancies left by the deaths of lawmakers Aminu Sa’ad Ungogo and Sarki Aliyu Daneji, both elected on the NNPP platform, who died on the same day in December 2025.
Musa Ungogo, chairman of the ADC in Kano, said the party opted out to preserve peace during the Ramadan period.
“We are trying to avoid unnecessary violence in the state. It is the month of Ramadan, and we are trying to avoid anything that could disrupt the peace,” he said.
Ungogo also alleged that the rerun was structured to favor the ruling party. “They will manipulate the election and hand it over to the ruling party. We will not be part of such an arrangement,” he added.
Yusuf Kibiya, the PDP state chairman, similarly criticized the conduct of the election, describing it as biased toward the APC. He said the party had submitted complaints to the electoral body but received no response and would seek redress in court.
The NNPP, through its spokesperson Ibrahim Baraya, said it deliberately stayed away because the APC candidates were originally its nominees before defecting. He said the party chose not to field replacements.
Meanwhile, Abdu Zango, the state electoral commissioner, attributed low voter turnout to Ramadan and what he described as the limited significance of the poll.
Despite the boycott, Kano State Gov. Abba Yusuf praised the election’s conduct, describing it as peaceful and orderly. In a statement by his spokesperson, Sunusi Tofa, Yusuf said the process reflected growing political maturity among voters and effective security arrangements.
“For the first time in recent history, we witnessed an election free of crisis, use of weapons and any form of manipulation in Kano,” he said.
In Rivers State, however, candidates of the APC won by-elections in Ahoada East Constituency 2 and Khana Constituency 2, according to Nigeria’s electoral commission.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Napoleon Ukalikpe winner of the Ahoada East seat with 3,980 votes, defeating candidates from several parties, including the Action Alliance and Action Party of Nigeria.
In Khana Constituency 2, APC candidate Burabari Loloo secured 7,647 votes to defeat candidates of other parties.
Returning officer Rosemary Ogbo said both elections were duly conducted and competitive, with the winners meeting all legal requirements.
The Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gabriel Yomere, described the process as peaceful and orderly, noting that there were no incidents of violence.
However, voter turnout was low in several polling units, with some residents observed going about their normal activities despite movement restrictions.
